A senior aide to Prince Andrew privately acknowledged that the Duke of York’s BBC Newsnight interview was a serious misstep, describing it as “hugely ill-advised and unsuccessful,” newly released court documents have shown.

 

 

Dominic Hampshire, a close associate and adviser to the Duke, conveyed these sentiments in a letter to Yang Tengbo, an alleged Chinese spy, in the wake of the controversial November 2019 interview, which led to Prince Andrew stepping back from public duties. Hampshire thanked Yang for his unwavering support during a turbulent period for the Duke.

 

 

In March 2020, Hampshire wrote to Yang on Buckingham Palace letterhead, stating, “We have dealt with the aftermath of a hugely ill-advised and unsuccessful television interview, we have wisely navigated our way around former private secretaries and we have found a way to carefully remove those people who we don’t completely trust. Moreover, in what originally seemed like a lost cause, you have somehow managed to not only salvage but maintain and then incredibly, enhance the reputation of my principal in China. Under your guidance, we found a way to get the relevant people unnoticed in and out of the house of Windsor.”

 

 

Hampshire also revealed the pair’s efforts to bolster the Duke’s standing in China, stating, “We orchestrated a very powerful verbal message of support to China at a Chinese New Year’s dinner and between the three of us, we have written, amended and then always agreed a number of letters at the highest level possible.” As a token of appreciation, Yang was invited to the Duke’s 60th birthday celebration as someone who had remained steadfast in his support.

 

Yang, who came to the UK as a student in 2002, was banned from returning to the country in February 2023 on national security grounds. During his appeal before the Special Immigration Appeals Tribunal in December, hundreds of pages of documents were disclosed, including two witness statements from Yang, dated June 2023 and May 2024.

 

In his statements, Yang recounted his initial meeting with Prince Andrew at a dinner at St James’s Palace in 2014, after being introduced to the Duke’s private secretary, Amanda Thirsk, by Formula 1 executive Sir Ron Dennis. He later became involved in Pitch@Palace, Prince Andrew’s business initiative, and was appointed to lead its Chinese branch when it launched in 2016.

 

Yang described the difficulty of promoting the venture, stating, “The Duke’s reputation was fairly negative and based on reporting taken from the British media.” However, he said everything changed following the infamous Newsnight interview. “Following that interview, all international partners of Pitch pulled out or distanced themselves from it… Amanda asked me if we would continue to support Pitch, especially given the success we had achieved in China. At a significant risk for me and my business reputationally, I agreed to continue to support Amanda and Pitch.”

 

In October 2020, Hampshire again wrote to Yang, confirming that Prince Andrew had given him “authorisation to represent him in China” to secure investors for a project called the Eurasian Fund. However, Hampshire stressed the need for secrecy, writing, “This relationship remains confidential and this letter is not to be circulated digitally. I also ask that a record be kept of who has been informed privately of this arrangement.”

 

Despite being ordered to keep a low profile and abstain from public duties, Prince Andrew was still actively working to revive his Pitch@Palace initiative under a new name, Innovate Global, according to Yang. He stated that discussions were ongoing to secure partnerships in countries such as Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, the UAE, and China, with no plans to hold events in the UK.

 

Yang also claimed that he was recognized as a valued member of the Chinese business community and had played a key role in supporting British businesses in China. He lamented that his exclusion from the UK had negatively impacted his health, particularly his diabetes treatment. “I should add that my trips to the United Kingdom are not simply for business,” he said. “I have suffered from diabetes for a long time… by the end of 2019, it had become much more serious, enough that it has had an impact on my sight. My intention was to return regularly for treatment in the United Kingdom as it is of a higher standard than treatment in China. This has not been possible due to my exclusion.”

 

Yang also disclosed that Liu Xiaoming, the Chinese ambassador, had expressed interest in understanding the situation regarding Prince Andrew and Pitch@Palace following the Newsnight interview. The ambassador reportedly wanted to meet the Duke and report back to Beijing but was concerned that Andrew’s poor reputation could prove damaging. To ensure discretion, Hampshire arranged for Yang to enter the Duke’s Windsor residence without attracting media attention by pre-registering his vehicle’s number plate to avoid scrutiny at the gate.

 

Based on a report by Daily Telegraph 2025-02-03

 

 

One royal clodhopper way way out of his depth.